ROYAL NEWS

Why Abuja Airport New Terminal Is Delayed —- Minister

The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, says the delay in the completion of the new terminal building at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, is due to fundamental issues.

Sirika Stated this while inspecting the project on Tuesday, as he explained to newsmen that one of the causes of the delay was a foundational issue which had led to the alteration of the master plan of the airport.

He added that the planning of the project did not envisaged entrance that the building would lead to additional works, power and water supply.

Sirika said: “It was also discovered that the building would block both the control and fire towers which would require relocation.

“Additional work was also required to link it with the existing terminal as well as expanding the apron to accommodate bigger air planes.”

The Minister further stated that, “another reason is the insufficient capacity of the existing power and water supply in the airport to cater for the new building with all the challenges requiring additional funding.

He however averred that the project is being funded through 500 million dollars loan from Chinese EXIM bank and 100 million dollars counterpart funding from Nigerian government stressing that the quality of work is acceptable but the pace of work is not acceptable because the project ought to have been delivered.

“The contractor has told us some of the challenges he has been facing regarding some of the components of work and some additional works required for this project to be put into use.

“Unfortunately, some of these components are complex which would delay this job and some of them are from the foundation like that of the sewer and water.

“There is also the problem of the control tower blocking the access into the terminal apron and also the inadequate nature of the apron itself”, he added.